“I think it’s much bigger than we perceive. A world championship, driver, team. For the sport, it’s much bigger. This could really offer a huge future that could really elevate the sport… for teams, for compensation. We need to do a great job, be great ambassadors. Use this as a giant pole vault for the sport in the future," said U-1's Steve David.

“It's very difficult to get the sponsorship dollars now (compared to past). If we represent ourselves well, make some friends, some corporate friends, I think we’ll be able to springboard this sport to a whole new gear,” said U-16's Dave Villwock. “This will be a very big deal for the sport and the future."

“It’s 50% more dense. That’s strike one. Strike two is a two mile course. It’s been a long time since we’ve run on less than a 2.5 mile course. More salt in the air and will cause more trouble for the turbines,” said U-16's Dave Villwock. “It’s something we have to deal with. We know there are some challenges there that may cause us trouble.”

"The salinity is higher than in San Diego,” said U-1's Steve David. “We’re trying to run a tighter operation – different filters and intakes. The problem is it hangs in the air. With a short course, we’ll be running into our own salt in the air.”